The family of a man imprisoned after leaking top secret documents exposing allegations of war crimes remain defiant as he appeals his sentence.
David McBride was sentenced to five years and eight months in jail after pleading guilty to disclosing classified military documents to journalists.
It led to a series of reports alleging Australian soldiers committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
The former military lawyer is appealing his conviction and sentence, which includes a non-parole period of two years and three months.
It means the 61-year-old will stay behind bars until at least August 2026.
McBride received a standing ovation and cheers from supporters in the courtroom as he entered the ACT Court of Appeal on Monday flanked by two officers.
McBride's team argued he shouldn't be convicted because his military oath contained a higher duty to act in the public interest even if orders were "ostensibly lawful".
The prosecution put that following orders was paramount to military discipline.
Justice David Mossop agreed with the prosecution when sentencing McBride in May 2024, saying he breached his duty as a soldier and lawyer to not disclose classified material.
McBride's senior counsel is Bill Neild argued the severity of the sentence was too harsh.
He was not motivated by self-interest and there was a failure to account for this when determining the seriousness of the offence, Mr Neild told the court.
On the contrary, this disclosure came at a severe personal detriment rather than financial gain or to help Australia's adversaries, he said.
The severity appeal further rests on the judge not giving enough weight to McBride's early guilty plea, that he thought he was doing the right thing and his mental health, including PTSD.
Justice Belinda Baker questioned the full benefit of the early guilty plea as it was only done once a ruling was made against McBride's key defence and "three weeks of court time were lost".
The oaths a soldier took didn't mention the public interest, Prosecutor Trish McDonald told the court.
Rather, the oath prescribing a soldier would faithfully discharge their duty according to law "is the antithesis of a concept that a member of the defence forces would have this ... discretion not to obey an order".
Speaking to the severity of his sentence, Ms McDonald argued McBride's motivation was considered and the judge ruled it didn't absolve his conduct.
McBride's team flagged seeking leave from the High Court to have his case heard if the appeal fails.
Outside court, ex-wife Sarah McBride said the ordeal "has come at a massive cost to our small, little family" but they remained close-knit and the priority had always been their daughters.
"They've obviously gone through the whole journey from the days in Afghanistan to where we're at now, so he worries about them," she told AAP.
"Certainly there's a price you pay for being a whistleblower in this country, whether it's incarceration, whether it's on your family."
McBride's daughter Georgie, who is going through Year 12, said the family remained resilient with the help of the community.
"It can be daunting, but at same time never lonely with anything that we're going through to do with the case," she told AAP.
If dealing with the case got hard, the family was able to remember it was about sacrifice and the bigger picture, she said.
"It's not about us and I'm think we're all willing to sacrifice aspects of our mental wellbeing if it means that we can bring justice and positive change within Australia's judicial system," she said.
